Kaduna state authorities have dismissed claims that dozens of worshippers were abducted from churches in Kurmin Wali on Sunday, describing the reports as false and spread by “conflict entrepreneurs.”
In a joint statement with local government officials, Kaduna state police commissioner Alhaji Muhammad Rabiu said the information was a “mere falsehood” and challenged anyone to provide names or details of alleged victims. Kajuru local government chairman Dauda Madaki confirmed that security forces sent to the area found no evidence of any attack. Religious leaders who visited Kurmin Wali also reported that the claims were untrue.
Earlier, a community leader, Ishaku Dan’azumi Sarkin, told the BBC that armed men had attacked three churches in the area and kidnapped 177 people, with 11 escaping and several injured. Police have not confirmed this account.
Nigeria has faced repeated mass kidnappings, with both Christians and Muslims targeted. Criminal gangs frequently abduct citizens for ransom, while the country also contends with Islamist insurgencies in the north-east, separatist violence in the south-east, and conflicts between herders and farmers in central regions. Experts cite corruption, poor intelligence sharing, and underfunded policing as obstacles to security.
In November, more than 300 students and teachers were seized from a Catholic school in Kaduna state and later released. Recent US military involvement includes airstrikes on Islamist militant camps in north-western Nigeria, following threats from President Donald Trump to act if Christians continued to be targeted.
A Nigerian foreign ministry spokesman, Alkasim Abdulkadir, emphasized that the government is committed to protecting all citizens, Christians and Muslims alike, and will continue working with international partners, including the US, to strengthen security.
